empty buddies list

[Kevin Justie]

I have a network without about 20 Macs using Messages (iChat) and 3 PCs using Pidgin.  This morning, 2 of the 3 Pidgin users had empty buddy lists.  I logged into the third PC, which had not previously been used today, and the full list of buddies (online Mac users) was there – until I chatted one of them, at which point 2/3 of the buddies disappeared.  Quit and reopened Pidgin and they were all gone, and they stayed gone on subsequents starts.  This is all Bonjour chatting; no other protocols in use; I deleted this person’s Bonjour account in Pidgin, re-added it, and still no buddies.

I then logged into the admin account on this PC, set up Pidgin there, and got basically the same results: half the buddies disappeared after a short period of time, though this time I was able to see that the list shortened when the buddies changed from the generic/unknown status that they initially have, to their real status, and not necessarily because I chatted one of them (must have just been coincidental timing the first time).  The buddy list shows both available and away users, but does not show all of either category.

The only thing that changed between yesterday, when it worked, and today is that I switched about half the Macs to Adium, along with an upgrade to OS X Yosemite.  But whether or not a given user is on Yosemite/Adium doesn’t affect whether they show in the buddy list on the PCs or not.  The three PC users do not show on each other’s buddy list, nor do they show on any of the Adium or Messages buddy lists on Macs.  In looking at the buddies that are showing on the PC (now down to 3), I can’t see any difference, in status or anything else, that distinguishes them from the ones that aren’t showing.

Any ideas on what could be causing this, and how to resolve it?

(PCs are on Pidgin 2.10.7.  I realize that’s a little behind current, but when I attempted to download the latest version I got a security certificate warning.)

thanks!

Kevin Justie
Ass't. Director, Head of Automated Services & Technology
Morton Grove Public Library
Morton Grove, IL
Direct: 847-929-5110
Main: 847-965-4220
kjustie at mgpl.org<mailto:kjustie at webrary.org>
http://www.mgpl.org<http://www.webrary.org/>

Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect official Library policy.



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